Thursday, March 26, 2015

Physical and Spiritual Exercise


                                   

Today I am writing my Slice of Life Story Challenge and linking up with Holly's Spiritual Journey Thursday. At Holly's blog we are writing about the different One Little Words that each of us have chosen. Today we are writing about Mary Hill's OLW: EXERCISE!
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I have been pondering exercise. I have been doing physical exercise pretty regularly for the last two years (with a few breaks in here and there). During the month of March I have had a special rhythm: get up, exercise and read,  post my daily blog and write a few comments while eating breakfast. My rhythm was becoming part of me.

What about the spiritual aspect of exercise?

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Keeping my body in shape (yes, I know mine could in a whole lot better shape), is not all that God is asking me to do. He wants me to exercise my faith!

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What does it mean? Reading my Bible. Praying. Going to church. Fellowshiping with other faith-exercisers. Being generous. With time and money. Serving the poor. Reading about other faith-exercisers. Listening to God. Doing what He is telling me to do.

Can I do all that????

I feel like I am falling short even before I start.

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Isn't this the point of exercising my faith--it takes faith!

I will not see the results right away. I will have to wait. When at the gym, I cannot be doing every machine every time. When I start pedaling my favorite bike, I have faith that I can do the time that I preset at the speed or incline that I choose. I have faith.

When practicing or exercising my spiritual gifts, I don't need to do everything at once. Do I need to keep my ears and my eyes open for what God is telling me to do? Yes! can I make a mistake? Yes? Will God use me or talk to me if I make mistakes? YES!

Could I combine physical and spiritual exercise?

Riding a bike and praying. Reading while biking or on the stepper. Why not? Walking and praying for your neighbors. Running an errand for someone in need and praying for them at the same time. 

Opportunities are endless. I just have to take the first step. God will be with me. He has promised.

Today I will exercise my faith. Both physical and spiritual.


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11 comments:

  1. Lee Ann SpillaneMarch 26, 2015 at 10:16 AM

    He has promised indeed-- “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."(Jeremiah 29:11) Your post reminded me of a time when I used to listen to the Bible while doing chores I didn't particularly like. I would weed to Matthew or ride the lawn tractor listening to Luke. What struck me as exercised my faith in those moments were the funny parts and the amazing parts... so good God's stories for us.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 26, 2015 at 10:17 AM

    I have always believed that anything we do and offer up is a prayer even if it is just something we think of as a mundane task. I often offer up sitting in traffic as a prayer that way I don't get frustrated because I am not moving.

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  3. Holly MuellerMarch 26, 2015 at 11:21 AM

    I love the similarities in our posts today. You've summed them all up in your last lines: "Today I will exercise my faith. Both physical and spiritual." I love the idea of combining them, too. Michelle had a great resource for prayer walking.

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  4. writekimwriteMarch 26, 2015 at 12:09 PM

    Beautiful! I am always struck by God's desire to meet us in all aspects of our daily life. It does take thought and practice! Thank you for these inspiring thoughts.

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  5. Carol VarsalonaMarch 26, 2015 at 12:22 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Carol VarsalonaMarch 26, 2015 at 2:03 PM

    Jaana, a lovely post with all the quotes you provided. While at PT today, I closed my eyes for a moment to offer up prayers while I was on a machine for the 6 minutes. Good practice=>Exercise and prayer-an exercise in faith (that is the title of the post I wrote). It is bittersweet to be at the close of the OLW journey but our community lives on.

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  7. Margaret SimonMarch 26, 2015 at 2:12 PM

    Exercise and prayer often go together in my world. I often do more than one thing at a time. Listen to music while writing. Talking on the phone while Facebooking. Well, they're not all good for me. I like how you have reflected and come to the conclusion that what you are doing is enough. That's all God asks.

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  8. AnonymousMarch 26, 2015 at 5:04 PM

    Thanks for sharing inspiring thoughts.

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  9. UnknownMarch 26, 2015 at 5:26 PM

    I pray a lot when I run. I talk through praise, as well as complaints (thak goodness He listens!) I talk through the needs of family and friends. I question things. I listen.
    I also zone out a lot, like my distracted students!
    Thank you for your wonderful post. It reminds me how similar all of our journeys are, and that we are really all more similar than we are different.

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  10. Leigh Anne EckMarch 26, 2015 at 8:51 PM

    I am so glad that this word was picked this week. I really need to get my spiritual and physical workouts going again - I know I will be better off.

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  11. Michelle HaseltineMarch 27, 2015 at 5:05 AM

    Thank you for this post! I love the connections you make with spiritual exercise and physical exercise. I got stuck on the physical part. I love these lines, "I just have to take the first step. God will be with me. He has promised." (Some days I feel like I need them tattooed on me as a reminder!!!)

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